


Apparition Love

by 0xycodone



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angry Liam is so cute, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, Liam is just trying to be a normal teenager, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Thiam, sorry for this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 12:02:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12232437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0xycodone/pseuds/0xycodone
Summary: It's been a couple months since the last standoff with Monroe and the Anuk-Ite. Liam has gotten a job at the behest of his parents and the majority of the pack has left for college, leaving behind only Mason, Corey, and Liam. A certain chimera goes missing and Liam has a difficult time coping with his sudden disappearance...until he finds a special visitor sleeping in the stall of his job's bathroom.





	1. I

“Uh...excuse me, ma’am!” With an exasperated sigh and a roll of his blue eyes, he raises his voice and tries to catch the woman’s attention again. “Ma’am! You left your bag!” He shouts, holding the plastic bag in his outstretched hand. The woman turns her cart around and snatches the bag from the boy’s grasp. She gives him a quick once-over, stopping to glance at his name tag. “Liam, is it? Maybe next time you should hand your customer the bag, Liam.” The woman turns back around with her cart and bag in tow, stalking off toward the exit of the store haughtily. Liam shut his eyes tightly, holding his breath and pacing himself against the itch in his fingertips, his claws nearly peaking through.

It’s nearly a quarter to four in the morning in the middle of August, and Liam is standing at the checkout of a Walgreen’s. Blue polo shirt, name tag and all. It had been a few months since the stand-off with Monroe and her hunters and the Anuk-Ite. Life for Liam and the rest of the McCall pack had been largely uneventful in the following months, with the exception of saying their goodbyes to each other. In the beta’s opinion, that had been more difficult than facing Monroe and the Anuk-Ite altogether. Despite the sinking feeling in his stomach, Liam, Mason, and Corey said their bittersweet goodbyes and parted ways with their older pack mates and their alpha.

The beta spent the first few weeks in hypervigilance, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Always terrified of having to defeat the next big bad on his own, without his alpha’s help. But as things continued to settle and life went back to normal (as normal as it can be for a teenage werewolf), Liam spent most of his days locked in his room, playing video games and sleeping. He doesn’t think he would go so far as to call it depression per se, maybe just confusion but suddenly everyone was gone and he couldn’t help the unsettling feeling that seemed to always creep beneath his skin. He couldn’t help but lose interest in the idea of third-wheeling Mason and Corey’s dates or going out and making new friends.

It was around that time that Liam’s parents cornered him over dinner one night and told him they thought it was time he finds a part-time job rather than spend all of his time cooped up in his room. Of course, Liam gave his best argument, but it’s not like he could explain to his parents that he didn’t have time for a job - not when his alpha was gone and the city was Liam’s to look after. So it came as no shock to the beta when not even a full two weeks later he was sitting in his first interview.

He’d only been at this job for a little over a month but somehow, being an overnight cashier in a drugstore was easily the most miserable he had ever felt in his entire life. He spent every night there staring at the clock, praying for the end of his shift to come and spamming Mason with texts and snapchats to wake up to. It had only been a month and Liam had already read every single magazine on the shelf...even Woman’s Day.

“Alright, 5-minute meeting, Liam.” The beta’s head snaps up, the voice of his manager breaking him out of his reverie. The older man stands in front of him, placing his papers down on the counter between them. He flashes Liam a small smile and shuffles through his papers before he finds the one he needs.

“What’s on today’s agenda, Allen?” He tries as hard as he can to curb his sarcasm, he actually doesn’t mind working with this manager. Allen is a middle-aged man, with a balding head, two small beady eyes, and a lopsided smile. The guy truly always means well even if he is confused the majority of the time. He never gets on Liam’s case for being late like everyone else does and that’s all that really matters.

“As you know it’s almost time for our back to school promotion to begin, so I’m gonna need you to start filling the promo aisle tonight. Also, now is a good time to start promoting flu shots.” Liam nods his head, letting Allen’s words go in one ear and right out the other. “And I’m sure you’ve heard that we’ve had an issue with a guy sleeping in the women’s bathroom the last two or so weeks.”

Liam’s interest peaks at this and he can’t help the laugh that escapes his lips. “What kind of a freak sleeps in a store’s bathroom?”

“We haven’t had to involve the police yet so we’d like to keep it that way. Usually, he leaves if we ask him to. If you have any complaints about it, just let me know.” Liam shakes his head in disbelief; who the hell would choose to sleep on a store’s bathroom floor? Allen reads off the rest of his papers to Liam, trying his best to sound like he knows what he’s talking about and avoiding any questions the younger boy might have.

Liam waits till Allen retreats to the front office before taking his phone out of his pocket. He takes a blurry snapchat of the aisles in front of the register, quickly typing out a message over the picture.

_i hate this place. please bring me food_

He smirks as he hits the arrow to send the picture and scrolls down to find Mason’s name in his contacts. He freezes briefly, his thumb hovering hesitantly when he spots that name. He can feel a knot growing in his stomach as he lets his finger lightly sweep over it. Theo.

It had been months since he saw the chimera. After that final battle with the hunters at the hospital, the pack had met up at Deaton’s to assess the damage and treat any wounds. Liam made sure the doctor had taken care of Theo the minute they got there, he even stayed at the older boy’s side the entire time Deaton cut the bullet out of his shoulder. Liam shudders at the chill moving down his spine, he can still feel the warmth of Theo’s hand beneath his own calloused one. Can still remember every word he whispered in the chimera’s ear, trying desperately to find the right words to stop the pained groans falling from the other boy’s lips.

He feels a spike of anger flare deep in his gut, ignoring Theo’s name and sending his snapchat before pocketing his phone once again. Liam had told Theo to sleep at his house for the night, muttering excuses about it not being quite safe yet in the town and not wanting to let anyone out of his sight just yet. They left Deaton’s together, Liam driving Theo’s truck back to his house. And when he fell asleep that night, it was with the comfort of knowing the other boy was safe in the guest bedroom just down the hallway.

That wasn’t the case when he awoke the next morning and found the guest bedroom empty, Theo’s truck gone. He’d spent that entire day - week, more like - in a panic, convinced that hunters had kidnapped the chimera and were going to kill him. He sent numerous calls and texts, left countless voicemails over the following months with no response whatsoever. Even went so far as to search nearly all of Beacon Hills in hopes of catching a scent, to no avail. Liam couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. How could someone spend so much time trying to worm their way into your life, and then just disappear like you never actually mattered at all?

Liam blinks, shaking his head to clear his train of thought and keep his anger from building anymore when he hears the entrance door slide open. “Hi, how are you?” He greets the two girls who stumble into the store, they both flash matching grins at him and then giggle at each other as they walk past the register. Liam sighs, grabbing a magazine off the shelf beside him...it was going to be a long night.


	2. II

“Move those composition books a little over to the left, Liam.” Allen gestures at the black and white books sitting on the shelf in front of them. “Yeah, right about there is good.” The older man gives Liam two thumbs up before turning on his heel and walking back to the office. “Nice job!” He adds just before Liam hears the office door click closed behind him. 

“Move those books over a little to the left,  _ Liam _ .” The beta rolls his eyes, mocking his manager as he continues to push the items further down along the shelf. He’s not sure what it is but since he had walked into the building tonight, something had automatically felt off to him. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on just set his teeth on edge. It was the feeling of familiarity he couldn’t place, like having deja vu. It makes his skin crawl and more than once already he’d felt his teeth sharpen, or his claws desperately aching to extend.

He tries his hardest to ignore it all, using all his energy to stock the back to school items and keep his mind from wandering too far. And he’s been successful thus far, it was already 3:30 in the morning and Liam’s shift ended at 7. He’s almost there and the prospect of climbing into his bed when he finally got home was all he needs to keep him going.

It’s not long before Allen is giving Liam a new task and Liam isn't sure if he’s thankful for the distraction, or annoyed that he’s being interrupted before he gets to finish organizing the folders by color. “What is it, Allen? The beta groans placing the remaining folders back into their box.

The manager flashes him his trademark smile, his beady eyes gleaming under the fluorescent lights of the store. “I'm gonna have Kelsey take over for you on register. I need you to check out the women's restroom.”

“You've gotta be kidding me. Is it that weirdo? The one who sleeps in the bathroom you told me about a couple weeks ago?”

“I got a customer complaint that there was someone lying on the floor.” Allen shakes his head and the corners of his mouth are falling to a frown before he's checking his watch. “Sorry Liam, I'm just so busy tonight. Just tell him to leave and he will.”

“But what if he-”

“I've gotta make some phone calls. Just page Kelsey if you need help.”

“It's almost 5 AM! Who could you possibly have to call?” He shouts at the retreating back of his manager. Liam runs a hand through his messy hair, tugging lightly at the locks. As much as Liam typically doesn't mind working with Allen, tonight really isn't the night to be picking up his managers slack and kicking people out of the bathroom. Not when he can practically feel the blue of his eyes flickering to gold with every step closer he gets to the bathrooms. The sense of familiarity grows stronger and it forces a lump into the boy’s throat, a sense of dread winding its way around his guts.

It's not until he's almost right outside the door that the scent finally registers.  _ But it can't be _ . It doesn't make sense and Liam thinks he's finally cracked. He takes a minute to ground himself, inhaling deeply and exhaling slow. He knows it's just his mind playing tricks on him, but the scent is driving him insane. He raises his fist and knocks on the door a couple times. “Hey, anybody in there?”

Unsurprisingly, he gets no reply. He knocks a few more times before his patience is wearing. “Dude, I need you to come out here...or I'm gonna have to come in,” he warns. He waits a minute longer before pushing the door open and wandering in. Immediately, he feels like he's been choked with the undeniable scent. He freezes in the doorway, spotting the familiar boots. “You cannot be fucking serious right now,” he grumbles pushing the stall door open. He's greeted with the sight of a man lying on the tiled floor, a sweatshirt over his face and a backpack under his head.

Liam's heart is pounding so hard it reverberates in his chest and he feels like it might break his sternum. “Hey, wake up!” He yells trying to get the boy’s attention. He kicks at the boy’s boots once, twice, three times but still gets no response. He has to take another deep breath to steady his hands and swallow the nausea bubbling up in his stomach. He leans down, practically face to face with the sleeping boy. He holds his breath as he stretches out his hand and pulls the sweatshirt away from the boy’s face.

If Liam didn't know any better, he would have sworn that right then and there, his heart stops. Every muscle in his body freezes as his eyes roam over  _ that _ face. That same face he spent months searching for, praying to see again. His mind is completely blank and he's mildly concerned this is all just a figment of his imagination after all. How could Theo be right in front of him after months of looking? And on the floor of a bathroom stall no less?

He reaches his hand out a little further, fingers still trembling and claws completely exposed now. He swallows thickly and lets the tips of his fingers and claws lightly trail over Theo’s cheekbone and down to his lower lip before snatching his hand away. Before he realizes what he's doing, he's reaching out again and landing a hard smack on Theo’s cheek.

The chimera lets out a surprised yelp and abruptly sits up against the tiled wall. “What the fuck was that for!” He yells cradling the side of his face.

Liam backs away from the other boy, pressing his back against the other side of the stall. His eyes are wide, blazing golden and his heart is still hammering in his chest when Theo’s bleary blue eyes meet his. He can hear Theo’s heart pick up speed over the sound of his own and somehow it comforts him enough to get over the shock of seeing him again.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” It leaves his lips as less of a question and more of a demanding growl, but he deserves to know. “Where the fuck have you even been?” He adds, eyes never leaving Theo’s.

“Well hello to you too, little wolf.” Theo gives Liam his classic smirk and it takes everything in the beta not to punch him right in his smug face.

“Fuck off, Theo. Do you have any idea how long I looked for you? Or how many nights I stayed awake terrified that you died? You don't get to just show up sleeping on the fucking bathroom floor of my job!” Liam can feel heat rushing through his veins, engulfing the pit of his stomach; all the anger he stored for months finally taking control. “Tell me where the fuck you were.” He bites out, trying hard to subdue his growls as he watches Theo stand up and slide his arms into the thin straps of his bag.

“I left, Liam. I don't know what else to say. I needed out of Beacon Hills. Surely you can understand that.” The chimera’s explanation only causes the fire building inside of Liam to burn even hotter. He can feel the sharp tips of his claws digging deep into the flesh of his palms, tiny drops of blood springing to the surface.

“No, I don't understand that. Clearly, I had a different  _ understanding  _ of things.” He grinds his teeth together trying desperately to keep some semblance of control over his anger. But the tension blossoming between the two isn't helping any.

“Listen, I'm getting my stuff and I'm leaving. You don't even have to see me again.” Theo barely gives him a second to react before he's turning tail and leaving the bathroom. Leaving Liam behind to try and make sense of what just happened, so he does the only thing he knows well and slams his fist against the tiled wall over and over until the skin of his knuckles is red and ragged and blood flows down his hand.

 


	3. III

“Liam, it's 7 o’clock in the morning. Have you even slept yet?” Mason’s groggy voice comes through the speaker of Liam’s phone pressed against his ear as he races to get into his car. 

“No, I just got out of work. Listen, I'm coming over. Please let me in when I get there. It's important.” The beta doesn't give his best friend the chance to argue, he quickly hangs up the phone and tosses it in his passenger’s seat.

He'd spent the remaining time at work desperately trying to keep his anger in check, trying his best not to fully shift in front of his co-workers and customers. Beacon Hills knew about the supernatural and he suspected at least some of his co-workers might know about Liam, but it didn't make it any less alarming for a person to see someone shift into a werewolf before their eyes. There was still thick tension in the town amongst the residents and Liam really didn't want to make that any worse than it already was. He'd already internalized all the blame for exposing the supernatural to their town, to begin with. So instead Liam isolated himself in the back room of the store, the furthest he could possibly get from that scent. And he tried to busy himself with tasks to keep his mind from dwelling on missing chimeras who slept in public restrooms.

While he had spent the majority of the night counting down the minutes till he was reunited with his bed, the idea of going home to toss and turn and eventually be consumed by his endless thoughts seemed like the least appealing option he had. So at 6:59 Liam was already clocked out and out the door, dialing Mason’s phone number.

He needed to get the thoughts out of his head and out in the open. He needed Mason’s calming attitude and rationale. Theo’s words kept bouncing off the walls of Liam’s skull, never leaving his mind for too long. He could obviously understand the appeal in leaving Beacon Hills, but it left such an ache deep in his chest to think it was that easy for Theo to leave, without even a single goodbye. It's not that Liam is naive and believed they were friends, he just thought they had some kind of trust, some kind of... _ connection  _ for lack of a better term, building between them. Especially after Theo had fought his hardest besides Liam at the hospital and he witnessed the chimera take Gabe’s pain. It had all meant so much to Liam to see Theo growing as a person, to be able to tell Scott, “ _ I told you so.” _

But it was over before any chance at a real friendship for them even began. Liam thought the other boy cared, he thought to see him take Gabe’s pain was a true testament to how much he had changed and how much he cared about the pack, and more importantly, people other than himself in general. Liam couldn't help but feel like an idiot in hindsight, trying to convince Theo to stay the night at his house, when the chimera didn't even have plans to stay in the same  _ town _ . He could feel his blood start to boil, claws scratching at his steering wheel at the thought of Theo packing his things that morning and leaving Liam behind without a second thought.

Thankfully, it doesn't take too long for him to arrive at Mason’s. He parks in front of the small house and takes a deep breath before getting out of the car and walking up the driveway to the front door. He has to fight the soft smile on his face when a disgruntled, sleepy Mason appears at the door, shooting his best friend a glare before opening the door to allow him in.

“Wanna tell me why you're waking me up at 7 AM?” Mason starts, plopping down on the couch and gesturing for the beta to follow. “By the way, you're lucky my parents left for work already. If they thought something was wrong with you, we'd never hear the end of it and they'd never leave,” he adds rolling his eyes.

Liam sits on the couch across from Mason, avoiding his friend's curious glances. Instead, he peers down at his hands, his fingers twitching with nervous energy. Claws always just itching to break out of the skin restricting them. “Liam?” Mason prods after a beat of silence. Liam stays quiet, scratching anxiously at the back of his neck as his mind is filled with sunken cheekbones, tired blue eyes ringed with dark circles and that scent. That scent that always seemed to drive the beta crazy, especially since it had all but vanished in the last few months. “It's Theo,” he eventually mumbles half-heartedly.

Mason furrows his brow at his friend’s reply. “Liam, I thought we talked about all of this? He's been gone for months, Li. And I'm sorry but I don't think he's coming back.” The look of sympathy twisting Mason’s features is enough to force a laugh out of Liam. The boy shakes his head, letting his best friends words sink in. He'd spent so long convinced that Theo was dead, then trying to desperately force himself to believe that the chimera would be back in Beacon Hills soon enough, only to come to the conclusion that the other boy was, in fact, dead, or at least never coming home. It had taken the beta so long to adjust to the idea of not having Theo around any longer. And it was laughable that he'd spent so long despising the older boy only to become so used to his presence that his disappearance had left Liam feeling like there was just an emptiness in his life.

“You know I spent so long thinking the same thing,” he lets out a bitter laugh, “right up until I found him sleeping in a bathroom stall at my job.” Liam deadpans leaving Mason to stare back at his best friend with a look of utter disbelief.

“You  _ what _ ? Found Theo... _ where _ ?”

Liam wants to laugh at the ridiculousness of his statement as he watches the other boy's brows crawl further into his hairline, his face still twisted with bemusement. But the longer he thinks about Theo, the faster he can feel his blood heat up in his veins and his heart begins to pound harder in his chest. “You heard right. The asshole is back in town and sleeping in bathroom stalls.”

Mason can't help but laugh at the entire situation, even if he tries to hide it when he realizes the beta is completely serious. “Wow...are you sure it was him?”

“Oh, I am 100% without a doubt that Theo Raeken was sleeping on the floor of the women's bathroom. And when I woke him up do you know what his response was?” Mason shakes his head uncertainly and Liam takes a deep breath, trying hard to soothe his frayed nerves before he continues. “He told me he needed to leave Beacon Hills and I should understand that. And then he took his shit and left  _ again.  _ He left  _ afuckinggain _ and he said I never even had to see him again.” Mason’s eyes widen as the volume of Liam’s voice increases and his eyes start to lose their normal blue color, slowly turning a bright gold.

“Listen to me, Li. I know you said you didn't care if Theo ever came back but maybe if you're this angry over it you should talk to him. Wait, hear me out here!” Mason holds his hands out in front of him precautionarily, trying to keep the other boy’s anger at bay when the low growl reaches his ears. “Just maybe you should tell him how much it affected yo-...all of us, I mean all of us when he left.” He offers his best friend a supportive smile.

“I'd rather be shot with a wolfsbane bullet again before I talk to that asshole.” Liam practically growls in response. He tries his best to avoid tearing the fabric of Mason’s mother’s couch, but he can't make any promises at this point. His anger is steadily building in his gut, scorching his insides and threatening to erupt.

“Then why are you this angry about seeing him again? Shouldn't you be happy he left again?”

Liam knows consciously that Mason means well but he thinks belatedly that discussing the chimera may have been a mistake. He watches his knuckles turn white with the force of him digging his claws into his palms and he speaks through gritted fangs, “you just don't get it.” He doesn't offer his friend any more of an explanation before he's up and out of the door.

 

***

It takes Liam nearly three hours to calm down enough to finally crawl into his bed and close his eyes. But to his utter annoyance, even with his eyes shut tightly, he can still see those sleep filled blue eyes and tousled hair can still hear Mason’s words floating around his head.

He knows Mason is right about talking to Theo. He knows that it would be the mature thing to do and deep down a voice tells him  _ it's what Scott would do _ . So all in all, he isn't surprised when he's begrudgingly reaching over to snatch his phone off his nightstand. He scrolls through his messages, all the way down past his recent texts till he finds the name he's searching for. And for the second time in days, he finds himself hesitant to tap out a text to the same asshole currently haunting the recesses of his mind. He lets his thumb hover over the contact for a while, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Ultimately he decides words just aren't quite his thing like they are Mason’s, he isn't quite as noble as Scott, and he can't even get past the anger bubbling up inside of him long enough to think about what he's actually feeling. So he locks his phone and tosses it back on his nightstand, rolling over and burying his head under his pillow.

 


	4. IV

 

It's been a week since Liam has seen Theo. An entire week of confusion, flashes of uncontrollable anger, and ignoring Mason’s concerned texts. It's not that he necessarily wants to ignore his best friend, he just has no idea how to answer Mason’s questions. He just can't quite put the racing thoughts haunting the recesses of his mind into words. It’s not that he misses Theo,  **really** it isn't. It's the feeling of betrayal that lives under his skin whenever he thinks about the chimera, it's the dread that settles in his stomach at the thought of never hearing from him again, the way his heartbeat skips every time he walks into work, and the emptiness in his chest when he works an 8 hour shift without even a glimpse of the asshole. How is he supposed to explain all of that to Mason without sounding completely pathetic? 

They've been friends for longer than Liam can even remember but it doesn't make talking about his  _ feelings  _ any easier. He thinks maybe that's why it was always so easy to be around Theo. If there's anyone more emotionally constipated then he is, it has to be that malicious fucker. He's not stupid, he knows Theo can obviously feel emotions. He remembers the flash of fear in his blue eyes when they fought the ghost riders in the hospital, the anger in his voice in the locker room before he'd lunged at Gage. He remembers the tears that had begun to well up in Theo’s eyes as he knelt in front of the hunter and took his arm in his grasp, absorbing the pain from the boy before him till Liam could hear the steady, slow taper of the hunter’s heart fade.

Despite the overall lack of communication between them, Liam thought he was the one person who might have a pretty good understanding of who Theo was and who he was becoming. He curses himself now for ever allowing himself to believe that maybe, just  _ maybe _ Theo cared about him. Clearly, that wasn't the case, he thinks bitterly. Maybe it was all just an act? Maybe he only ever wanted to gain entrance to Scott’s pack and Liam was just a convenient way in. Maybe when the chimera realized Scott wasn't ready to forgive and forget (for the first time in the history of  _ ever _ ), he decided it was finally time to pack up and move on. Maybe Liam was just a pawn after all.

He can't help the growing hollow feeling in his chest, nausea burning its way into his stomach at the idea of all the maybes and what ifs. Maybe after all this time and denial, Liam really does just mis- “Hey, Liam! Hey, wake up!” Two snapping fingers catch the beta’s attention, interrupting his train of thought. He blinks a few times before his vision focuses on the redheaded woman standing before him. “You've been holding that box for 15 minutes and I think you're about to rip a hole right through it.” Liam glances down at the box in his hands and immediately his cheeks heat up at the way his claws have broken through the cardboard.

“Sorry, Charlotte,” he mumbles setting the box down on the shelf.

She gives him a knowing smirk and sighs, “Why don't you let me finish this up and go straighten up the candy aisle? Just keep an eye on the register for me.”

Liam gives her a small smile and nods in response before he turns and saunters off to the candy aisle. “Oh and Liam!” He turns back around and waits for his manager to continue, a questioning look on his face, “you need to get more sleep kiddo. You look like shit.”

“Thanks, Char. Will do,” he chuckles and continues on his way to organize the candy.

 

***

 

Liam spends most of his night from that point on organizing theater boxes of candy until around 2:30 AM when he gets another text from Mason telling him to  _ meet me outside _ . 

He sighs as he punches his employee number into the time clock. Seeing Mason will help to break his night up a little and make his shift a little easier, but he really,  _ really  _ doesn't want to spend his lunch answering Mason’s questions and quelling his concern. He shuffles out to the parking lot anyway in search of his best friends car. Mason is parked right out front and he gives the beta a tired smile when they make eye contact. Liam briefly feels guilty that Mason is sitting in a Walgreens's parking lot at 2:30 in the morning.

Mason waves him over eagerly and Liam doesn't waste a second climbing into the passenger's seat. “What the hell are you doing up this late?” He gives the other boy a questioning glance and gestures at the clock.

“Well maybe if  _ someone  _ would answer my texts, I wouldn't be up all night worrying,” he shoots Liam a glare out of the corner of his eye and starts to pull out of the parking lot.

“Alright, fine. I'm sorry. But where are we going?”

“It's lunchtime for you, right? We're gonna get food. Food fixes everything.” Mason gives Liam a big smile, white teeth glittering in the street lights. Liam can't help but feel his nerves relax and the sense of ease that washes over him. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he'd thought. Food truly does fix everything.

It's not long before the boys are pulling into a 24-hour McDonald’s drive-thru and Mason is asking for Liam’s order. “C’mon, I dragged you out of work at 3 AM. It's my treat,” he insists and Liam wishes he was a better man, but who is he to turn down free food? He gives Mason his order (two double cheeseburgers, hold the onions. A four-piece chicken nugget with sweet n’ sour please! And a small Dr. Pepper, always) and he can't help but laugh when Mason has to stifle a yawn halfway through ordering it. Thankfully, it had only taken Liam a week or less for his body to adjust to being awake at this ungodly hour. He thinks his insomnia may have had something to do with that.

After the boy's pick up their food, Mason parks in the far corner of the deserted parking lot. Liam snatches the bags from the other boy’s lap and starts to distribute the food, shoving some of Mason’s fries in his mouth in between.

“Hey! Hey, those are mine! Get your greedy little werewolf hands off!” Mason shrieks stealing the carton of fries away from the beta. Liam just smirks and plucks another three fries from the carton.

 

*** 

 

It's on the drive back when Liam is happily munching on his chicken nuggets that Mason has to go and spoil it. He reaches to turn down the music just a little and chances a sideways glance at Liam. “So Li…please don't get angry,” he proceeds cautiously, not wanting to start another argument between the two. “I've been thinking a lot lately.”

“When are you not?” Liam interrupts begrudgingly. All he wanted was to eat his nuggets in peace.

Mason inhales sharply, “Well, one of us has to. Anyway, that's not the point! The point is you know how Malia’s anchor was Stiles and Scott’s was Allison when he was first bitten?”

Liam already doesn't like where this is going but he nods along anyway, waiting with baited breath for the rest of Mason's questions.

“Okay, well as far as I've known, you've never had an anchor that way.”

“No kidding Mason, do you think I'm shifting all the time because I want to?” Liam huffs and drops his chicken nuggets into the bag at his feet. He should have known where this was going the minute Mason offered to pay.

“That's not necessarily what I'm talking about. I just...Liam, I can't help but notice that your anger has gotten way worse and even uncontrollable at times.”

“Get to the point, Mason.” The beta bites out between gritted teeth.

Mason sighs and frowns at the other boy's impatience before continuing on, “It just feels like this all coincides with a timeline and I just...have you ever considered that Theo is your anchor?” Mason rushes the question out, followed by a sharp inhale of breath and a look of panic flashing across his face. Liam hasn't even fully processed the question when he's practically snarling in reply.

“We're done talking about this.” It sounds like a threat more than anything and Liam nearly winces at the low growl that leaves him. Mason nods his head wordlessly and Liam takes that as his cue to leave and pretend this conversation never happened. He climbs out of Mason’s car without a second glance back and walks into the store, trying his best to ignore the spikes of anger sending chills down his spine.

The second he steps foot in the entrance, he can practically feel his eyes glowing at the scent that engulfs him. “Oh for fuck's sake,” he groans and makes his way to clock in from his lunch. He doesn't waste a second after clocking in. The minute he walks out of the office, he's quickly prowling the aisles for a sight of that same asshole currently making his life a living hell.

He finds him in the same candy aisle he had just spent hours previously organizing. “Planning on making a bed in the bathroom again?” Liam is almost surprised at the heat behind his words.  _ Almost _ .

Theo turns toward him and laughs softly, blue eyes glittering under the bright store lights. “Nah, just thought I'd get some food.” He shrugs and holds up a box of Sour Patch Kids.

Liam sighs and moves forward to start pushing the boxes of candy forward where the chimera had taken some. “Try not to make a mess. Some of us have jobs to do.” He rolls his eyes and tries to ignore the warm scent radiating off of Theo and his urges to both punch him in his face and bury his face in the crook of the chimera’s neck.

“Why are you even working here anyway?”

_ “Maybe if you hadn't left, you'd know _ ,” he thinks to himself bitterly. He shrugs his shoulders in reply, “maybe I just wanted to be a normal teenager for once.”

“But you're not a normal teenager. Why be something you're not?” Theo asks matter-of-factly.

Liam groans in annoyance, “Why do you even care? Wait, I have a better question, why are you  _ sleeping _ on bathroom floors?” He arches an eyebrow at the chimera and crosses his arms over his chest defensively.

“And why do you care where I choose to sleep?”  That stupid smirk never leaves his face for too long and it forces a wave of heat through Liam’s veins.

“Because you just so happened to pick my job! What happened to “you never even have to see me again,” huh?” Liam mocks him through gritted teeth.

He watches as a slow smile spreads across Theo’s face, all white teeth, and bright blue eyes. “What can I say, Liam? I guess I just couldn't stay away.”

The anger pooling deep in the beta’s gut blossoms dangerously, his eyes flickering to gold and claws stretching out. He growls low enough just for Theo to hear. “Am I getting under someone's skin?” He gives Liam a knowing smirk before he's reaching out and lightly tugging at the collar of his shirt.

It takes all the restraint Liam has not to lunge at the chimera right then and there. “Get out.” His voice guttural, a warning more than anything else.

“You want me to leave, Liam? Then I'll go. You just had to ask.” Theo throws the boxes of candy he was holding back on the shelf and doesn't hesitate to walk right past the beta without another word and out the door.

Liam doesn't know if the sinking feeling in his gut is relief or disappointment.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are liking this. Sorry for this long ass chapter, I just couldn't stop writing. I just love these jerks so much. I promise in the next two chapters there will be a lot more interaction between the two of them!

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for this, I don't know what else to say hahaha. I was at work and this popped into my head and wouldn't leave till I wrote it.


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